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hearken

verb
heark·​en | \ ˈhär-kən How to pronounce hearken (audio) \
variants: or harken
hearkened or harkened; hearkening\ ˈhärk-​niŋ How to pronounce hearkening (audio) , ˈhär-​kə-​ \ or harkening

Definition of hearken

intransitive verb

1 : listen hearkened without much mental comment— Theodore Dreiser
2 : to give respectful attention the humble folk who hearkened to these evangelists— G. M. Stephenson

transitive verb

archaic : to give heed to : hear
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Synonyms & Antonyms for hearken

Synonyms

attend, hark, harken, hear, heed, listen, mind

Antonyms

ignore, tune out

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Examples of hearken in a Sentence

hearken! I hear the distant beat of the hooves of many horses

First Known Use of hearken

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

History and Etymology for hearken

Middle English herknen, from Old English heorcnian; akin to Old High German hōrechen to listen, Old English hīeran to hear

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Time Traveler for hearken

The first known use of hearken was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for hearken

hearken

verb
hear·​ken | \ ˈhär-kən How to pronounce hearken (audio) \
hearkened; hearkening

Kids Definition of hearken

: listen sense 1

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More from Merriam-Webster on hearken

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with hearken

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hearken

Spanish Central: Translation of hearken

Nglish: Translation of hearken for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of hearken for Arabic Speakers

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